Fiber optic light pipes integrated into a textile via weft knitting

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the disclosure provide systems and methods for a knitted textile with integrated fiber optic light pipes and systems and methods for using such a knitted textile. According to one embodiment, a knitted textile can comprise a woven fabric, one or more fiber optic light pipes woven into a plurality of courses within the woven fabric, and two or more supporting structures disposed at opposite sides of the knitted textile. The one or more fiber optic light pipes can be woven into the plurality of courses within the woven fabric, can extend beyond an edge of the woven fabric, and can wrap around each of the two or more supporting structures.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefits of and priority, under 35U.S.C. § 119(e), to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/134,673 filedJan. 7, 2021 by Bowels et. al. and entitled “Fiber Optic Light PipesIntegrated into a Textile Via Weft Knitting” of which the entiredisclosure is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to methods andsystems for knitted textiles and more particularly to a knitted textilewith integrated fiber optic light pipes.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure provide systems and methods for a knittedtextile with integrated fiber optic light pipes and systems and methodsfor using such a knitted textile. According to one embodiment, a knittedtextile can comprise a woven fabric, one or more fiber optic light pipeswoven into a plurality of courses within the woven fabric, and two ormore supporting structures disposed at opposite sides of the knittedtextile. The one or more fiber optic light pipes can be woven into theplurality of courses within the woven fabric, can extend beyond an edgeof the woven fabric, and can wrap around each of the two or moresupporting structures.

The two or more supporting structures can each have a diameter greaterthan a minimum bending radius of the one or more fiber optic lightpipes. For example, the two or more supporting structures each have adiameter equal to or greater than five millimeters.

The one or more fiber optic light pipes can be woven into the pluralityof courses within the woven fabric by a three-dimensional knittingprocess. For example, the three-dimensional knitting process cancomprise a weft knitting process.

In some cases, the one or more fiber optic light pipes can comprise aplurality of separate fiber optic light pipes. In such cases, each ofthe plurality of separate fiber optic light pipes can be individuallyaddressable.

According to another embodiment, a lighted fabric panel system cancomprise a knitted textile comprising a woven fabric, one or more fiberoptic light pipes woven into a plurality of courses within the wovenfabric, and two or more supporting structures can be disposed atopposite sides of the knitted textile. The one or more fiber optic lightpipes can be woven into the plurality of courses within the wovenfabric, extend beyond an edge of the woven fabric, and wrap around eachof the two or more supporting structures. The system can furthercomprise one or more light sources. Each of the one or more lightsources can be optically coupled with one of the one or more fiber opticlight pipes. A processor can be electrically coupled with each of theone or more light sources and a memory coupled with and readable by theprocessor. The memory can have stored therein a set of instructionswhich, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to determinea color or a pattern for the knitted textile, and adjust the one or morelight sources based on the determined color or pattern for the knittedtextile.

The lighted fabric panel system can further comprise one or more inputdevices electrically coupled with the processor. In such cases, theinstructions can further cause the processor to receive an input signalfrom each of the one or more input devices and determine the color ofthe pattern for the knitted textile based on the received input signalfrom each of the one or more input devices. For example, at least one ofthe one or more input devices can comprise a clock and the instructionscan cause the processor to determine the color of the pattern for theknitted textile based on an elapsed time or a time of day. In anotherexample, at least one of the one or more input devices can comprise asound source. In yet another example, at least one of the one or moreinput devices can comprise an accelerometer. In such cases, thedetermined color or pattern for the knitted textile indicates motionand/or a change in direction. The lighted fabric panel can be installedon an interior surface of a passenger vehicle, for example.

According to yet another embodiment, a method for producing a knittedtextile can comprise disposing two or more supporting structuresdisposed at opposite sides of the knitted textile, weaving one or morefiber optic light pipes into a plurality of courses within a wovenfabric of the knitted textile, wherein the one or more fiber optic lightpipes are extend beyond an edge of the woven fabric, and wrap aroundeach of the two or more supporting structures, and tightening the one ormore fiber optic light pipes around the supporting structures. The twoor more supporting structures can each have a diameter greater than aminimum bending radius of the one or more fiber optic light pipes. Theone or more fiber optic light pipes can be woven into the plurality ofcourses within the woven fabric by a three-dimensional knitting process.For example, the three-dimensional knitting process can comprise a weftknitting process. In some cases, the one or more fiber optic light pipescan comprise a plurality of separate fiber optic light pipes and whereineach of the plurality of separate fiber optic light pipes isindividually addressable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary knitted textile withintegrated fiber optic light pipes according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system utilizing a knittedtextile with integrated fiber optic light pipes according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for constructinga knitted textile according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for utilizing aknitted textile with integrated fiber optic light pipes according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a letter thatdistinguishes among the similar components. If only the first referencelabel is used in the specification, the description is applicable to anyone of the similar components having the same first reference labelirrespective of the second reference label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various embodiments disclosed herein. It will beapparent, however, to one skilled in the art that various embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be practiced without some of these specificdetails. The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only andis not intended to limit the scope or applicability of the disclosure.Furthermore, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure,the preceding description omits a number of known structures anddevices. This omission is not to be construed as a limitation of thescopes of the claims. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplaryembodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing an exemplary embodiment. It should howeverbe appreciated that the present disclosure may be practiced in a varietyof ways beyond the specific detail set forth herein.

As used herein, the phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” “or,” and“and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive anddisjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at leastone of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B,and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “A, B, and/or C,” and “A, B, or C”means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, Band C together, or A, B and C together.

The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. Assuch, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can beused interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms“comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably.

The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers toany process or operation done without material human input when theprocess or operation is performed. However, a process or operation canbe automatic, even though performance of the process or operation usesmaterial or immaterial human input, if the input is received beforeperformance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to bematerial if such input influences how the process or operation will beperformed. Human input that consents to the performance of the processor operation is not deemed to be “material.”

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to anytangible storage and/or transmission medium that participate inproviding instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium maytake many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media,volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, forexample, Non-Volatile Random-Access Memory (NVRAM), or magnetic oroptical disks. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as mainmemory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, afloppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any othermagnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, a Compact Disk Read-Only Memory(CD-ROM), any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any otherphysical medium with patterns of holes, a Random-Access Memory (RAM), aProgrammable Read-Only Memory (PROM), and Erasable Programable Read-OnlyMemory (EPROM), a Flash-EPROM, a solid state medium like a memory card,any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as describedhereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read. Adigital file attachment to e-mail or other self-contained informationarchive or set of archives is considered a distribution mediumequivalent to a tangible storage medium. When the computer-readablemedia is configured as a database, it is to be understood that thedatabase may be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical,object-oriented, and/or the like. Accordingly, the disclosure isconsidered to include a tangible storage medium or distribution mediumand prior art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations of the present disclosure are stored.

A “computer readable signal” medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program codeembodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using anyappropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, Radio Frequency (RF), etc., or any suitablecombination of the foregoing.

The terms “determine,” “calculate,” and “compute,” and variationsthereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any typeof methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique.

It shall be understood that the term “means” as used herein shall begiven its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C.,Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term“means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein,and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materialsor acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described inthe summary of the disclosure, brief description of the drawings,detailed description, abstract, and claims themselves.

Aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Any combinationof one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computerreadable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computerreadable storage medium.

In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, aprogrammed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integratedcircuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digitalsignal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such asdiscrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array suchas Programmable Logic Device (PLD), Programmable Logic Array (PLA),Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Programmable Array Logic (PAL),special purpose computer, any comparable means, or the like. In general,any device(s) or means capable of implementing the methodologyillustrated herein can be used to implement the various aspects of thisdisclosure. Exemplary hardware that can be used for the disclosedembodiments, configurations, and aspects includes computers, handhelddevices, telephones (e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital, analog,hybrids, and others), and other hardware known in the art. Some of thesedevices include processors (e.g., a single or multiple microprocessors),memory, nonvolatile storage, input devices, and output devices.Furthermore, alternative software implementations including, but notlimited to, distributed processing or component/object distributedprocessing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can alsobe constructed to implement the methods described herein.

Examples of the processors as described herein may include, but are notlimited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801, Qualcomm®Snapdragon® 610 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bit computing,Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7 motioncoprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, the Intel® Core™ family ofprocessors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel® Atom™family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel®Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22 nmIvy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300,and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments®Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments®OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™-M processors,ARM® Cortex-A and ARM926EJ-S™ processors, other industry-equivalentprocessors, and may perform computational functions using any known orfuture-developed standard, instruction set, libraries, and/orarchitecture.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readilyimplemented in conjunction with software using object or object-orientedsoftware development environments that provide portable source code thatcan be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms.Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially orfully in hardware using standard logic circuits or Very Large-ScaleIntegration (VLSI) design. Whether software or hardware is used toimplement the systems in accordance with this disclosure is dependent onthe speed and/or efficiency requirements of the system, the particularfunction, and the particular software or hardware systems ormicroprocessor or microcomputer systems being utilized.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partiallyimplemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executedon programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of acontroller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, orthe like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as anapplet, JAVA® or Common Gateway Interface (CGI) script, as a resourceresiding on a server or computer workstation, as a routine embedded in adedicated measurement system, system component, or the like. The systemcan also be implemented by physically incorporating the system and/ormethod into a software and/or hardware system.

Although the present disclosure describes components and functionsimplemented in the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations withreference to particular standards and protocols, the aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations are not limited to such standards andprotocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned hereinare in existence and are considered to be included in the presentdisclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein andother similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein areperiodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents included in thepresent disclosure.

Various additional details of embodiments of the present disclosure willbe described below with reference to the figures. While the flowchartswill be discussed and illustrated in relation to a particular sequenceof events, it should be appreciated that changes, additions, andomissions to this sequence can occur without materially affecting theoperation of the disclosed embodiments, configuration, and aspects.

According to various embodiments, the problem of integrating compactinlay of fiber optic light pipes can be solved by including a knittedsupport structure to pull the light pipes through the machine withoutdamaging the glass or deforming it past the appropriate bend radius. Asupport structure can be knitted on either side of the fiber opticfabric so that it catches the fiber optic inlay and locks it in place.Additional courses of the support structure can be knit while the mainfiber optic fabric remains so that the support structure pulls the edgesof the fiber optic light pipe down off of the needle bed withoutdamaging or overbending the light pipe; and without adding courses tothe main fabric, therefore leaving a high density of fiber optic lightpipe in the main fabric. This allows the additive, automated integrationof a fiber optic light pipe into a textile without damaging the lightpipe while maintaining high density of fiber in the fabric, which meansa higher density of light emanating from the fabric. Previous approachesto using weft knitting for fiber optic integration have lower densitylight and therefore look like stripes rather than a single source oflight.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary knitted textile withintegrated fiber optic light pipes according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure. According to one embodiment, and as illustrated inthis example a knitted textile 100 can comprise a woven fabric 105, oneor more fiber optic light pipes 110 woven into a plurality of courseswithin the woven fabric 105, and two or more supporting structures 115Aand 115B disposed at opposite sides of the knitted textile 100. The oneor more fiber optic light pipes 110 can be woven into the plurality ofcourses within the woven fabric 105, can extend beyond an edge of thewoven fabric 105, and can wrap around each of the two or more supportingstructures 115A and 115B.

The two or more supporting structures 115A and 115B can each have adiameter greater than a minimum bending radius of the one or more fiberoptic light pipes 110. For example, the two or more supportingstructures 115A and 115B each have a diameter equal to or greater thanfive millimeters.

The one or more fiber optic light pipes 110 can be woven into theplurality of courses within the woven fabric 105 by a three-dimensionalknitting process. For example, the three-dimensional knitting processcan comprise a weft knitting process.

In some cases, the one or more fiber optic light pipes 110 can comprisea plurality of separate fiber optic light pipes 110. In such cases, eachof the plurality of separate fiber optic light pipes 110 can beindividually addressable, i.e., for providing a variety of patterns etc.when illuminated.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system utilizing a knittedtextile with integrated fiber optic light pipes according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in this example, alighted fabric panel system 200 can comprise a knitted textile 100 asdescribed above. As described, the knitted textile 100 can comprise awoven fabric 105, one or more fiber optic light pipes 110 woven into aplurality of courses within the woven fabric 105, and two or moresupporting structures 115A and 115B can be disposed at opposite sides ofthe knitted textile 100. The one or more fiber optic light pipes 110 canbe woven into the plurality of courses within the woven fabric 105,extend beyond an edge of the woven fabric 105, and wrap around each ofthe two or more supporting structures 115A and 115B.

The system can further comprise one or more light sources 215. Each ofthe one or more light sources 215 can be optically coupled with one ofthe one or more fiber optic light pipes 110. A processor 205 can beelectrically coupled with each of the one or more light sources 215 anda memory coupled with and readable by the processor 205. The memory canhave stored therein a set of instructions which, when executed by theprocessor 205, causes the processor 205 to determine a color or apattern for the knitted textile 100, and adjust the one or more lightsources 215 based on the determined color or pattern for the knittedtextile 100, e.g., a predetermined or pre-selected color and/or pattern.

The lighted fabric panel system 200 can further comprise one or moreinput devices 220A and 220B electrically coupled with the processor 205.In such cases, the instructions can further cause the processor 205 toreceive an input signal from each of the one or more input devices 220Aand 220B and determine the color of the pattern for the knitted textile100 based on the received input signal from each of the one or moreinput devices 220A and 220B. For example, at least one of the one ormore input devices 220A and 220B can comprise a clock and theinstructions can cause the processor 205 to determine the color of thepattern for the knitted textile 100 based on an elapsed time or a timeof day. In another example, at least one of the one or more inputdevices 220A and 220B can comprise a sound source. In yet anotherexample, at least one of the one or more input devices 220A and 220B cancomprise an accelerometer. In such cases, the determined color orpattern for the knitted textile 100 indicates motion and/or a change indirection.

The knitted textile 100 and the lighted fabric panel system 200 asdescribed herein can be implemented in a different environments andproducts. According to one embodiment, the lighted fabric panel system200 can be installed in a passenger vehicle, e.g., an automobile,aircraft, watercraft, etc., and the knitted textile 100 of the lightedfabric panel system 200 can be installed on an interior surface of thepassenger vehicle, for example. As described above, the processor 205can receive an input signal from each of the one or more input devices220A and 220B, such as one or more accelerometers etc., and determinethe color of the pattern for the knitted textile 100 based on thereceived input signal from each of the one or more input devices 220Aand 220B. These colors and/or patterns can indicate speed, motion, achange of direction, etc., for the vehicle and presentation of thesecolors and/or patterns can thereby reduce motion sickness or sensoryconfusion for passengers of the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for constructinga knitted textile according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.As illustrated in this example, producing or constructing a knittedtextile 100 can comprise disposing 305 two or more supporting structures115A and 115B at opposite sides of the knitted textile 100, weaving 310one or more fiber optic light pipes 110 into a plurality of courseswithin a woven fabric 105 of the knitted textile 100, wherein the one ormore fiber optic light pipes 110 are extend beyond an edge of the wovenfabric 105, and wrap around each of the two or more supportingstructures 115A and 115B, and tightening 315 the one or more fiber opticlight pipes 110 around the supporting structures 115A and 115B. The twoor more supporting structures 115A and 115B can each have a diametergreater than a minimum bending radius of the one or more fiber opticlight pipes 110. The one or more fiber optic light pipes 110 can bewoven into the plurality of courses within the woven fabric 105 by athree-dimensional knitting process. For example, the three-dimensionalknitting process can comprise a weft knitting process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for utilizing aknitted textile with integrated fiber optic light pipes according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in this example,the process can comprise receiving 405 an input signal from each of theone or more input devices 220A and 220B and determine 410 the color ofthe pattern for the knitted textile 100 based on the received inputsignal from each of the one or more input devices 220A and 220B. Forexample, at least one of the one or more input devices 220A and 220B cancomprise a clock and the instructions can cause the processor 205 todetermine the color of the pattern for the knitted textile 100 based onan elapsed time or a time of day. In another example, at least one ofthe one or more input devices 220A and 220B can comprise a sound source.In yet another example, at least one of the one or more input devices220A and 220B can comprise an accelerometer. In such cases, thedetermined color or pattern for the knitted textile 100 indicates motionand/or a change in direction. The light source 215 for the knit textile100 can then be adjusted 415 based on the determined color.

The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/orconfigurations, includes components, methods, processes, systems, and/orapparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, includingvarious aspects, embodiments, configurations embodiments,sub-combinations, and/or subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art willunderstand how to make and use the disclosed aspects, embodiments,and/or configurations after understanding the present disclosure. Thepresent disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/orconfigurations, includes providing devices and processes in the absenceof items not depicted and/or described herein or in various aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations hereof, including in the absence ofsuch items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g.,for improving performance, achieving ease and\or reducing cost ofimplementation.

The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosureto the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing DetailedDescription for example, various features of the disclosure are groupedtogether in one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations forthe purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure may be combined inalternate aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations other than thosediscussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claims require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a singleforegoing disclosed aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Thus, thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodimentof the disclosure.

Moreover, though the description has included description of one or moreaspects, embodiments, and/or configurations and certain variations andmodifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications arewithin the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill andknowledge of those in the art, after understanding the presentdisclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternativeaspects, embodiments, and/or configurations to the extent permitted,including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures,functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not suchalternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions,ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publiclydedicate any patentable subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A knitted textile comprising: a woven fabric; one or more fiber optic light pipes woven into a plurality of courses within the woven fabric; and two or more supporting structures disposed at opposite sides of the knitted textile, wherein the one or more fiber optic light pipes are woven into the plurality of courses within the woven fabric, extend beyond an edge of the woven fabric, and wrap around each of the two or more supporting structures.
 2. The knitted textile of claim 1, wherein the two or more supporting structures each have a diameter greater than a minimum bending radius of the one or more fiber optic light pipes.
 3. The knitted textile of claim 2, wherein the two or more supporting structures each have a diameter equal to or greater than five millimeters.
 4. The knitted textile of claim 1, wherein the one or more fiber optic light pipes are woven into the plurality of courses within the woven fabric by a three-dimensional knitting process.
 5. The knitted fabric of claim 4, wherein the three-dimensional knitting process comprises a weft knitting process.
 6. The knitted textile of claim 1, wherein the one or more fiber optic light pipes comprises a plurality of separate fiber optic light pipes.
 7. The knitted textile of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of separate fiber optic light pipes is individually addressable.
 8. A lighted fabric panel system comprising: a knitted textile comprising: a woven fabric, one or more fiber optic light pipes woven into a plurality of courses within the woven fabric, and two or more supporting structures disposed at opposite sides of the knitted textile, wherein the one or more fiber optic light pipes are woven into the plurality of courses within the woven fabric, extend beyond an edge of the woven fabric, and wrap around each of the two or more supporting structures; one or more light sources, each of the one or more light sources optically coupled with one of the one or more fiber optic light pipes; a processor electrically coupled with each of the one or more light sources; and a memory coupled with and readable by the processor and having stored therein a set of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: determine a color or a pattern for the knitted textile, and adjust the one or more light sources based on the determined color or pattern for the knitted textile.
 9. The lighted fabric panel system of claim 8, further comprising one or more input devices electrically coupled with the processor and wherein the instructions further cause the processor to receive an input signal from each of the one or more input devices and determine the color of the pattern for the knitted textile based on the received input signal from each of the one or more input devices.
 10. The lighted fabric panel system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more input devices comprises a clock and wherein the instructions cause the processor to determine the color of the pattern for the knitted textile based on an elapsed time or a time of day.
 11. The lighted fabric panel system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more input devices comprises a sound source.
 12. The lighted fabric panel system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more input devices comprises an accelerometer.
 13. The lighted fabric panel system of claim 12, wherein the determined color or pattern for the knitted textile indicates motion.
 14. The lighted fabric panel system of claim 12, wherein the determined color or pattern for the knitted textile indicates a change in direction.
 15. The lighted fabric panel system of claim 12, wherein the knitted textile is installed on an interior surface of a passenger vehicle.
 16. A method for producing a knitted textile, the method comprising: disposing two or more supporting structures disposed at opposite sides of the knitted textile; weaving one or more fiber optic light pipes into a plurality of courses within a woven fabric of the knitted textile, wherein the one or more fiber optic light pipes are extend beyond an edge of the woven fabric, and wrap around each of the two or more supporting structures; and tightening the one or more fiber optic light pipes around the supporting structures.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the two or more supporting structures each have a diameter greater than a minimum bending radius of the one or more fiber optic light pipes.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more fiber optic light pipes are woven into the plurality of courses within the woven fabric by a three-dimensional knitting process.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the three-dimensional knitting process comprises a weft knitting process.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more fiber optic light pipes comprises a plurality of separate fiber optic light pipes and wherein each of the plurality of separate fiber optic light pipes is individually addressable. 